1 TO RATIFY OR NOT TO RATIFY? AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CASE FOR RATIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES IN THE PACIFIC NATALIE BAIRD * Intuitively, ratification of human rights treaties should support protection and promotion of human rights. But will it? This article considers whether ratifying human rights treaties is a useful strategy to advance the cause of human rights in the Pacific. It aims to contribute to the ratification debate in the region by assessing the potential responses of Pacific states to the pressure for ratification. The article first reviews the consequences of ratification and then discusses the specific benefits and challenges of ratification for Pacific states. Against this background, four strategies that states might adopt in response to calls for ratification are considered, ranging from wholesale ratification at one end of the spectrum, to a moratorium on ratification at the other. The article argues that a strategy of selective ratification of individual treaties, combined with the pursuit of one or more complementary rights frameworks (national, regional or international), is likely to be the most effective way to advance human rights in the region. CONTENTS I Introduction ............................................................................................................... 2 II Ratification of Human Rights Treaties ...................................................................... 4 A The Consequences of Ratification ................................................................ 4 B Ratification of Human Rights Treaties in the Pacific ................................... 5 III The Potential Benefits of Ratification ....................................................................... 9 A Protection and Promotion of Human Rights ................................................. 9 B Mechanisms for Enforcement of Human Rights Standards ........................ 11 C Certainty of Obligations .............................................................................. 11 D Universality, Indivisibility and Inalienability ............................................. 13 E Rewards for Ratification ............................................................................. 14 IV The Challenges of Ratification ................................................................................ 15 A Whose Rights? ............................................................................................ 15 B National Sovereignty and Constitutional Amendment ............................... 17 C The Influence of Non-State Actors ............................................................. 20 D Resources and Priorities .............................................................................. 20 V Ratification Strategies: Assessing the Options ........................................................ 23 A Strategy One: Wholesale Ratification ......................................................... 23 B Strategy Two: Moratorium on Ratification................................................. 24 C Strategy Three: Selective Ratification ........................................................ 25 D Strategy Four: Alternative Rights Frameworks .......................................... 30 1 National Frameworks...................................................................... 31 2 A Regional Framework................................................................... 34 3 Universal Periodic Review Mechanism.......................................... 38 * BA, LLB (Hons), LLM, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Canterbury. The author thanks the two anonymous Melbourne Journal of International Law referees for their thoughtful suggestions on the draft article, and Claudia Geiringer for her helpful comments on a very early draft.